Doncaster siblings who ran a waste tyre business that caused a massive fire have been sentenced to nine months immediate custody today at Sheffield Crown Court.
Jane Hopkins, aged 45, formally of Ewood Drive, Doncaster, now at Bridlington and David Squire, aged 31, formally of Cecil Avenue, Doncaster, now at Bridlington both received the sentence.
Craig Hassall, prosecuting for the Environment Agency, told the court how Tyretrade Ltd had an environmental permit since September 2008, but had never operated within its terms, as there had always been more tyres on their Whitlea Grove site than the permit allowed.
Breakdown of the case
On 13 January 2009 Environment Agency officers visited the site and told Hopkins and Squire that action would be taken to revoke their permit on the 30th of that month if steps were not taken to reduce the amount of tyres.
Three days later Hopkins, Squire, and Tyretrade Ltd were convicted at Doncaster Magistrates Court, for previous offences related to the depositing, keeping and treating of tyres. They both received conditional discharges of two years. The company was fined a total of £24,000. The company then went into voluntary liquidation.
Less than a month after, Tyretrade Ltd was liquidated, and Tyre Trade UK Ltd was incorporated with Hopkins as the sole director. The new company took over the Whitelea Grove site previously used by the old company.
Mr Hassall told the court that the waste tyre collection operation had never ceased. Despite the convictions in 2008 and continued warnings from the Environment Agency, business had continued as usual.
In March 2009, the company was told that its permit was no longer valid and that the tyres were being stored illegally.
Later that month, Hopkins hired a heavy duty shredder and in April she visited local companies offering tyre collection services. Surveillance of the site in April and May saw further deliveries of tyres to the site.
Environment Agency officers searched the site on 17 June 2009, and while they were there another delivery of 400 tyres arrived.
Hopkins’ and Squires’ home addresses were searched and documentation was seized. Hopkins and Squire were arrested and interviewed.
Further reminder letters were sent in July 2009 for the tyres to be cleared. The tyre shredding machine was repossessed in August 2009 because the defendants had not paid the hire charges. When the machine was removed, more tyres were still being delivered.
When Squire was served with a notice requiring him to provide all paperwork, he never complied with the notice.
Tyretrade Ltd was evicted from the Whitelea Grove site in September 2009, at which point there were an estimated 120,000 tyres left on the premises.
Documents obtained by the Environment Agency show that between January and July 2009 more than 51,500 tyres were received for which Tyretrade Ltd received nearly £45,000.
The court heard how by June 2010 there were still vast numbers of tyres at the site. In the early hours of the morning of 28 June 2010 a fire started causing a plume of thick black smoke that was visible for several miles.
72 households had to be evacuated and the cost to South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue for dealing with the fire was £300,000. It also cost Doncaster Metropolitan District Council £10,000 to help those evacuated.
Mr Hassall told the court that Hopkins and Squire deliberately set up a new company to try and avoid the effects of the previous prosecution. They completely ignored repeated warnings from the Environment Agency and continued to trade in flagrant disregard of regulations.
He said that the fire in June 2010 clearly demonstrated the reasons why regulations are put in place for waste tyre operations, and this would not have happened but for the defendants’ utter failure to comply with the regulations.
Ignoring previous warnings
Summing up, Her Honour Judge Coe said: “The fire was a consequence created by your failure to comply with the regulations.
“I cannot ignore your lack of appreciation for the Environment Agency’s concern.”
The judge said Hopkins and Squire both ignored warnings and previous identical convictions and carried on regardless. She said their actions were a “blatant disregard for the law and the efforts of the Environment Agency to enforce the law.”
Speaking after the case, environmental crime team leader Ian Cowie at the Environment Agency said: “This sentence serves a warning to all illegitimate operators. We will not tolerate businesses or individuals who deliberately ignore laws that are in place to protect the environment. Their actions caused huge disruption and risk to the local community and today’s result shows that the courts take these matters very seriously.
“My team will continue to target and pursue all criminals who break environmental laws for their own financial gains, and those who deliberately ignore the law and cause pollution and distress to local residents.”
Breakdown of charges
Jane Hopkins and David Squire pleaded guilty to the following charges:
1. Jane Hopkins and David Squire, between 5th April 2008 and 6th September 2008, being Directors of Tyretrade Limited, consented to, connived in or caused by neglect the operation by the said company of a regulated facility, namely a waste tyre storage and treatment operation on land at Units 1 to 4, Whitelea Grove, Mexborough, while no environmental permit was in force.
Particulars of offence:
Operating a regulated facility without authorisation, contrary to Section 2 of the Pollution Prevention and Control Act 1999 and Regulations 12, 38(1)(a) and 41 of the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2007.
2. Jane Hopkins and David Squire, between 4th September 2008 and 20th January 2009, being directors of Tyretrade Limited, consented to, connived in or caused by neglect the operation by the said company of a regulated facility, namely a waste tyre storage and treatment operation on land at Units 1 to 4, Whitelea Grove, Mexborough, other than in accordance with an environmental permit.
Particulars of offence:
Operating a regulated facility without authorisation, contrary to Section 2 of the Pollution Prevention and Control Act 1999 and Regulations 12, 38(1)(b) and 41 of the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2007.
3. Jane Hopkins and David Squire, between 19th January 2009 and 21st February 2009, knowingly caused the operation of a regulated facility, namely a waste tyre storage and treatment operation on land at Units 1 to 4, Whitelea Grove, Mexborough, other than in accordance with an environmental permit.
Particulars of offence:
Operating a regulated facility without authorisation, contrary to Section 2 of the Pollution Prevention and Control Act 1999 and Regulations 12 and 38(1)(b) of the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2007.
4. Jane Hopkins and David Squire, between 20th February 2009 and 12th August 2009, being officers of Tyre Trade UK Limited, consented to, connived in or caused by neglect the operation by the said company of a regulated facility, namely a waste tyre storage and treatment operation on land at Units 1 to 4, Whitelea Grove, Mexborough, other than in accordance with an environmental permit and while no environmental permit was in force.
Particulars of offence:
Operating a regulated facility without authorisation, contrary to Section 2 of the Pollution Prevention and Control Act 1999 and Regulations 12, 38(1)(a) and 41 of the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2007.
5. Jane Hopkins and David Squire between 10th February 2009 and 29th June 2010, being officers of Tyre Trade UK Limited, consented to, connived in or caused by neglect the keeping by the said company of waste namely waste tyres on land at Units 1 to 4, Whitelea Grove, Mexborough in a manner likely to cause pollution to the environment or harm to human health.
Particulars of offence:
Keeping waste in a manner likely to cause pollution to the environment or harm to human health contrary to Section 33(1)(c) and 157(1) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
David Squire pleaded guilty to the following charge:
6. David Squire between 16th August 2009 and 28th August 2009 failed to comply with a notice served under Regulation 4 of the Environmental Protection (Duty of Care) Regulations 1991 in that he failed to furnish waste transfer notes to the Environment Agency as required by that notice.
Particulars of offence:
Failure to comply with a notice served under the Environmental Protection (Duty of Care) Regulations 1991 contrary to s34(6) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
